The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-05-13
HEAVY FAILURES.

Sherman s. Marsh and SchnabeI g. Co.,
Barb-Wire Makers of Chicago, Assign,
with Liabilities of Over &75O,O0O-The
Working of the Interstate Commerce
Law Charged with Being the Indirect
Cause.
CHICAGO, May fisherman & Marsh,
barb-wire manufacturers at Grand Cross
ing, H., and Sehnabel & Co., at Deering
Station, on the Northwestern railroad,
failed yesterday for an aggregate of about
$751;, 900. The total assets of the two firms
are placed at s439, 425. The members of
the firm are Herman E. Schnabal and
Eben j. Marsh, as special partner, and of
the former firm are General Francis T.
Sherman, a son of ex- Mayor Francis
c. Sherman, and Eben J. Marsh,
son-in-law of Francis T. Sher-
man. In both cases Noble B.
Judah, of the law firm of Dupee, Judah &
Willard, was made assignee. SchnabeI q
Co employed fifty men, and have been in
existence about nine years. while Sherman
& Marsh have been in business about seven
years, employing eighty men. They
worked under the ITO barbed- wire fence
patents. Until recently the firms were
making large profits, but the oper-
alton of the Inter State bill
proved disastrous. The rates fixed for
rail transportation enabled competing
firms which could avail themselves of
water routes to cut prices. AS conse-
quence business came almost to stand
still and the firms found themselves bur-
dened by the operating expenses of two
large factories, large stocks of manufact-
ured and raw material on hand, added to
the already large stock which they had &C
n n Il hran IN
which time the market has been rather
dull.
Under all these discouragemen both con-
Germs ran their factories until Saturday
night. At that time the works at Grand
Crossing and those at Deering shut down,
but no one thought seriously of the matter,
as on several occasions when markets
were especially dull the firms have been
known to take this precaution against
overproduction and loss. Yester-
day $40, 600 of notes fell due, and
as remittances had been light for
the last thirty days the combined firms
were unable to cope with the difficulties Of
the situation and an assignment was
agreed upon as the last resort. The mod
est offices of the firms at 81 Dearborn
street were closed to callers and notice
duly posted notifying the public that Mr..
Judah had been appointed assignee
Mr.. Judah said last night he was not yet
familiar with the causes of the failure in
detail. He only knew that the barb-wire
business had been overdone. Several
years ago, when the wire was first intro
duced, enormous quantities OF itwere used.
The means of producing it increased be-
yond all reasonable consumption, and the
consequent reaction occurred. These two
firms had suffered by that reaction and
had been getting in debt deeper and
deeper until, heavy obligations fall
ing due, compelled them to assign. Mr..
Marsh said: ''Of course one immediate
cause of our failure is the maturity of OBJ
legations and the failure of our own
debtors to remit. The Interstate Com
MERGE act did as much as anything to
break US down. That law prevents us
from going outside the city on paying
basis, and we had no market inside the
city. Our goods had to go West, and to
get them West with advantage to our
selves we had to have special rates. For
three years, though, we have not been
doing we'll"